1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for preheating, prereducing, and melting metallic machining chips in conjunction with heat applied by electric arc heaters in the melting zone.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The utilization of machine chips as a feedstock in a number of melting operations is regarded as an improvement in process economics, because of the low cost of the chips. However, their use as a charge material in some melting systems is limited for several reasons including high metal loss due to oxidation and decreases in productivity. For example, in conventional induction melting of cast iron, when machine chips are charged into a furnace, a large fraction of the chips oxidized before melting. The problem is particularly troublesome because of the substantial surface area-to-volume ratio which is characteristic for machine chips.